Keane Southard
Do You Hear How Many You Are? for
a cappella SATB choir
(2010) (Duration: c. 4 mins.)
Program notes: Do You Hear How Many You Are? for SATB choir was written in April and May of 2010. The origins of this piece and text come from a very interesting experience I had in December of 2009. I have been learning a lot in the past few years about the state of our world and the many huge problems and crises we are faced with in the near future, and this discovery has been so daunting and overwhelming to me. So much change needs to happen in order for the near and longterm future of our world to be just and stable that I have felt a lot of guilt over my choice of profession. Why have I chosen to be a composer and musician when I could make more of an impact on solving these problems if I were a scientist or policy maker etc.? I have been struggling to find a solution to this dilemma for a while now and I just happened to be thinking about it, while filled with lots of stress and worries, one night as I was falling asleep in December of 2009. At the moment when I was in that state halfway between sleep and consciousness, I suddenly heard the line “Do you hear how many you are?� in my head, yet I felt as though I didn't come up with the line but that it was said TO me. I was instantly comforted, as if a load fell off my shoulders, and then I began to hear it being sung, which I knew was the beginning of a choral piece. I woke up, wrote down the music I was hearing (about the first six measures of the work) and then wrote down this entire poem. I truly feel that this message came to me for a reason, and that I need to share it through the music I create. Those of us who want to change the world for the better are not alone; we are many and we will make our voices hear in order to heal the world. Keane Southard 2010 Keane Southard/Spindrift Pages Email: keane.southard@hotmail.com Website: keanesouthard.instantencore.com
Text: Do you hear how many you are? You are multitudes, Breathing glory. The most precious hands of God made you. Certain of your perfectness, Weaving in your holiness, Knowing in your frayed distress You will find a way, Through garlands you lay. Do you hear how many you are? You are countless, Dreaming of peace. The sweetest gift of love you bring Throughout the sunken earth, Believing in its worth, Delight in the rebirth of all you are I am never far. Do you hear how many you are? You are wonders, Splendidly wayward, Come home and find yourselves in me. White lilies on the wing, The comfort of nothing, You know this as you sing A petal kisses dew I am with you. -Keane Southard
Do you hear how many you are? Text by Keane Southard
SOPRANO
p
q = 72
Do you
pp
Do
pp
BASS
you
Do
TENOR
hear
p
ALTO
Do you
p
Do
man - y you are?
Do you hear
man - y you are?
mp Do you hear how
man - y you are?
Do you
man - y you are?
Piano reduction (for rehearsal only)
8
Do you hear how
Do
man - y you are?
are?
You
are
f mul - ti - tudes,
are
mul - ti - tudes,
f mul - ti - tudes,
Do you hear
man - y you are?
You
Do you hear how
man - y you are?
You
are
Do you
man - y you are?
You
are
mul - ti - tudes,
Do
man - y you
You are
f mul - ti - tudes,
are?
how
man - y you are?
You
are
mul - ti - tudes,
Do you hear
man - y you are?
You
are
f mul - ti - tudes,
Do you hear how
man - y you are?
You
are
mul - ti - tudes,
Do you
man - y you
©2010
mp
mp
how
q = 72
Keane Southard
mp Do you hear how
man - y you are?
rit. p
Breath - ing
glo - ry.
The most
Breath - ing
glo - ry.
Breath - ing
glo - ry.
Breath - ing
glo - ry.
rit.
2 (e=66)
14
pre - cious hands of God made you
pre - cious hands of God made you
pp
Cer - tain of your per - fect - ness, Weav - ing in your ho - li ness,
pp
mp
per - fect - ness, Weav - ing in your ho - li ness, (e=66)
q = 58 mf
18
will find
mf
will find
q = 40
q = 40 ppp
p
a way,
a way,
p
ppp
will find
a way,
q = 58
through gar - lands you lay.
mf
through gar - lands you lay.
mf p ppp will find a way, through gar - lands you lay.
p
p
dis - tress you
Know - ing in your frayed
dis - tress you
p
p
Know - ing in your frayed
ppp
q = 40
dis - tress you
dis - tress you
hear how
man - y you
are?
Do
you
hear
man - y you
are?
p Do
you
hear how
man - y you
are?
you
man - y you
p
Do
man - y you
are?
p
how
man - y you
are?
are?
q = 72
q = 72 p Do you
Do
through gar - lands you lay.
molto rit.
Know - ing in your frayed
piu mosso
molto rit.
p pp you
piu mosso p
Cer - tain of your per - fect - ness, Weav - ing in your ho - li ness, Know - ing in your frayed
p
p
p
Cer - tain of your per - fect - ness, Weav - ing in your ho - li ness,
p
q = 40 pp
Do
you
hear
Do
you
hear
Do
you
hear
23
how
Do
how
man - y
you
are?
man - y
you
are?
man - y
Do
you
how
are?
You
are
count - less,
are
mf count - less,
are
count - less,
You
You
are?
You
are
man - y
are?
You
are
you
you
are
You
man - y
are?
you
you
man - y
mf count - less,
3
Dream - ing
count - less,
of
Dream - ing
of
p
peace.
bring
peace.
mp
peace.
peace.
The
mp
sweet - est
The
gift
sweet - est
gift
of
love
of
love
through - out
the sunk - en
p
bring
through - out
-
out
you bring through
-
out
the sunk - en
you bring through
the sunk - en
the sunk - en
rit.
earth,
earth, pp
earth,
Be -
earth,
Be -
pp
q = 50
q = 50 pp
pp
-
rit. 28
of
ing
count - less,
ing
Dream
mf
-
of
Dream
mf
Be -
4
31
p
De - light in the re - birth of all you
are,
mf
I
p
am
ne
are,
I
am
mf liev -ing in its worth, De - light in the re-birth of all you are.
liev - ing in its worth,
liev - ing in its worth,
De - light in the re - birth of all you
De - light in the re - birth of all you
q = 72 p Do
man - y you are?
mf Do
Do you
man - y you are?
p Do you hear
man - y you are?
36
I
p
-
am
I
am
ne
ver
far.
ver
far.
-
pp
ne
pp
ne
are,
-
pp
ver
far.
pp
ver
far.
-
man - y you
are?
are
f won - ders,
Do you
man - y you
are?
You are
won - ders,
mf Do you hear
man - y you are?
You
are
f won - ders,
Do you hear how
man - y you are?
Do you hear how
man - y you are?
You
are
won - ders,
p Do
man - y you are?
mf Do
man - y you are?
You
are
f won - ders,
Do you p Do you hear
Do you hear how q = 72
p
mf
mf
You
man - y you are?
Do you
man - y you are?
You
are
won - ders,
man - y you are?
mf Do you hear
man - y you are?
You
are
f won - ders,
man - y you are?
man - y you are?
Do you hear how
You
are
won - ders,
42
Splen -
did - ly
Splen
Splen
did - ly
way - ward,
-
did - ly
-
did - ly
mp
home and find your - selves in
a
pet - al
a
pet - al
mf
a
the
pp
lil - ies
on
the
wing,
on
the
the
pp
wing,
on
the wing,
pet - al
a
pet - al
the
the
p
kiss - es
dew,
p
kiss - es
dew,
p
kiss - es
dew,
kiss - es
q = 58
dew,
I
am
with
you.
ppp
I
am
I
am
I
am
with
you.
ppp
with
you.
ppp
with
you.
rit.
q = 40 ppp
rit.
p mf
wing,
piu mosso
pp
q = 58
the
- fort of noth - ing, you know this as you sing,
q = 40
on
lil - ies
mf
com - fort of noth - ing, you know this as you sing,
me.
lil - ies
lil - ies
com - fort of noth - ing, you know this as you sing,
mp
me.
mf
me.
p
com - fort of noth - ing, you know this as you sing
com
your - selves in
Come home and find your - selves in
rit.
mp
mp
way - ward,
pp
White
piu mosso 46
p Come home
way - ward,
Splen
-
way - ward,
5
q = 40
rit.
q = 40